A New Dutch Farm is Producing Carbon-Neutral Eggs. Here’s How.

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In Brief

Poultry farming can have an adverse effect on the environment due to its resulting carbon emissions. However, a new farm in the Netherlands claims that its eggs are carbon-neutral.

Emission-Free Eggs

In recent years, free-range and organic eggs have become increasingly popular among people who are eager to support more ethical farming methods. Now, Dutch stores are stocking a food produced with the environment, as well as animal welfare, in mind: carbon-neutral eggs, meaning that no emissions are associated with their production.

These ‘Kipster eggs’ are the product of a new farm that’s been established near the Dutch city of Venray. It diverges from the techniques commonly used to yield organic and free-range eggs, which see chickens fed with human-grade corn.

“It makes no sense for us to be competing with animals for food,” Ruud Zanders, the poultry farmer and university lecturer behind the project, told The Guardian. “And 70% of the carbon footprint in eggs is accounted for by the feed for the chickens.”

The farm collects waste items like broken biscuits and rice cakes from local bakeries, along with other edible items that are set to be thrown away, and turns it into feed for the chickens. This has a twofold effect; it prevents the “competition” between humans and animals for the same food sources that Zanders refers to, and has a positive effect on the farm’s carbon footprint.

However, its choice of chicken feed isn’t the only effort the operation is making to limit its carbon emissions. It has also installed some 1,078 solar panels that provide more than enough energy for the farm itself, with any overage being sold back to the grid.

Hatching the Future

Based on the effect of these solar panels and the way the chickens are fed, a study by the Wageningen University found that the farm’s eggs could be considered carbon-neutral eggs. Zanders has said that if this status changes in the future, he will install further solar panels elsewhere to reduce CO2 emissions even further.

It’s going to take a unilateral shift across various different industries to ensure that we can address carbon emissions. Kipster eggs can’t do it alone – but they could certainly contribute to a greater endeavor.